The
San Mateo County News, the only daily newspaper in San Mateo County, is
published in the city of San Mateo every afternoon except Sundays and holidays
and was founded by A.P. Bellisle and J.D. Bromfield in the year 1914, its first
number appearing on the 5th of January.It is the county publication in the sense that its influence and
scope of action extend throughout the entire district from South San Francisco
and Daly City on the north to Menlo Park and Pescadero on the south, which
demonstrates its prestige all over the county.

Preeminently,
San Mateo County is a district of homes and for many years a real need had been
felt for a daily newspaper that would publish the news of the county in a
prompt efficient and unbiased manner.The foundation of the San Mateo County News responded to the necessities
of this epoch in the peninsula’s development which were clearly understood by
Messrs. Bromfield and Bellisle, who thus endowed the County of San Mateo with
an independent newspaper, free from political influences of the various
factions whose frequent struggles had agitated the county.

On
November 1, 1913, the two young men who later were to establish the county’s
first daily paper, took over the San Mateo Leader from Charles M. Morse.Prior to that time A.P. Bellisle had been
associated with Mr. Morse in the publication of the Leader and J.D. Bromfield
had been connected with the San Francisco Morning Call for about five
years.Two months after assuming
control of the San Mateo Leader, Messrs. Bellisle and Bromfield announced
through the columns of their weekly paper their determination to establish the
county’s first daily.In less than two
days, over six hundred subscribers had been secured.

Despite
the enthusiastic reception accorded the new paper by the public, some doubts
were expressed as to the success of the enterprise.A few pessimists and a number of envious contemporaries voiced
the opinion that the News would cease publication before the expiration of
three months.Hearing these generous
expressions about the “foolhardy” young editors, many persons declined to
invest more than forty cents at a time for subscriptions because of a fear that
they might lose their money.

In
the face of these dark predictions, however, The News thrived and
prospered.Independence, respect to the
private citizen, the judicious attack on public officials, and not against the
individual personally, have formed the doctrine of The News from the
beginning.Truth, honesty; that was the
starting point.Liberty, progress and
development are the only ends which the paper has pursued.

Such
complete liberty of judgment and action, far from implying a lack of definite
issue or clear perspective, were indispensable to form a basis of the program
which the San Mateo County News outlined from the beginning and which it has
maintained up to the present, and will continue in the future.

The
News has now entered upon its third year and is steadily gaining in the
confidence and esteem of the communities which it serves.Its efficiency and independence in giving
the news has caused it to grow rapidly and steadily until it now has nearly
10,000 daily readers.This large and
growing circulation has won for it the patronage, and not the sympathetic
support of the advertising merchants.It can be truthfully said of the News that it has never solicited
advertising except on the basis of giving value received.In this respect it differs from the ordinary
country newspaper.

There
is a popular demand for The News in all parts of the peninsula and today it
holds first place in the journalistic field of the county and still has the
distinction of being the only daily newspaper in a county of 35,000 population.

The
News Publishing Company, which not only publishes the San Mateo County News and
the San Mateo Leader, but does a large printing business as well, has twenty
regular employees on its pay roll and has become one of the leading business
enterprises of the county.

The
San Mateo Leader, companion publication of The News, is the oldest established
weekly in San Mateo, having been founded in 1899.The Leader, which is made up of the best local news selected from
the daily, is without doubt the most newsy weekly paper in the county and is
invaluable to those who can not avail themselves of the daily service of The
News.The Leader is conducted with the
same independent policy that characterizes the daily paper.

The
News has correspondents in all centers of population throughout the county, however,
small they may be, and the public in general aids materially in facilitating
the work of gathering the news of the county by communicating information of
current topics and important events direct to the editorial rooms.

The
San Mateo County News has become one of the permanent institutions of the
county and its present success presages a brilliant future.Messrs. Bellisle and Bromfield are to be
heartily thanked for filling a long-felt want in San Mateo County.